GOP: Don't let the door hit you…

Ben Smith: “Ten days after at least some Republicans were surprised to see Mitt Romney lose the presidency, the candidate is gone without a trace. There appears to be no Romney Republicanism to propagate. No Romney strategy to emulate. No Romney technology to ape. No generation shaped by his failed effort. And no Romney infrastructure to inherit, though he may still be asked to write and bundle quite a few checks.”

“Republican governors are torn between essentially staying the course in the wake of Mitt Romney’s loss and a more proactive strategy aimed at radically shaking up their party in an effort to reach out to young and minority voters,” Politico writes.

Yet, the AP’s Hunt reports, “From longtime GOP luminaries to the party’s rising stars, almost everyone asked about the Republicans’ Nov. 6 election drubbing seems to agree that a wholesale update is necessary for a party that appears to be running years behind Democrats in adapting to rapidly changing campaigns and an evolving electorate.”

(Really? Mitt and Ann Romney were spotted at the new Twilight movie in California, TMZ reports.)

Is this the answer? Florida Sen. Marco Rubio made a trip to Iowa. The AP’s Elliott: “Ostensibly, Rubio’s visit to this early nominating state was for Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s birthday party. But the political implications of Rubio’s visit were clear from the start as the Republican Party looks ahead to 2016’s presidential contest… But his birthday wishes for Branstad were more like a roadmap for his party looking for a new direction and an argument for a Rubio presidential campaign.”